Panini with Brie, Apples, and Raspberry Preserves

Sorry for my lack of blogging yesterday. It was an INSANE weekend. A friend’s birthday party on Friday, grandparents in town on Saturday, wedding on Sunday… which left absolutely ZERO time for cooking (hey everyone needs a break, right?). Plus with it getting dark way earlier these days, my photography lighting is just terrible! I ordered my first set of studio lights, which should get me through the winter lighting! However, they aren’t here yet, so you’ll just have to put up with my crappily exposed photos for now. okay? thanks! Stepping off soap box 🙂

This was our last-minute throw together dinner last night… and it evolved from one of hubs’ ideas combined with some of the things i love (brie cheese, apples, and raspberries!).

So there is really no “recipe” to this glorious panini, but it was TOO good not to share. So I will give the ingredients and my method. The great thing about sandwiches (including paninis) is they are FAST, easy, and customizable (making even the pickiest eaters happy!). It was SUPER easy to make both hubs and I happy on this one. Hubs like extra meat on his sandwiches (BLEH!)… done! I prefer extra brie and raspberry preserves… done! We both had our perfect sandwich in minutes!

This would be fantastic with holiday leftovers (ham, turkey, and cranberry sauce anyone?!)! Hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!

Directions:

Preheat a skillet to medium to medium-high heat. For each panini: Butter one side of one of the slices of bread and place (buttered side down) into the hot skillet. Add a few slices of turkey, ham, and then brie cheese. Top with apple slices. On the other slice of bread, spread some raspberry jam on one side. Place the bread ) jam side down on top of the panini. Top with a piece of foil & weight down with a cast iron skillet (or other heavy object). allow to cook until bottom side of panini is nice and golden.

Remove skillet & foil. Lift panini out of pan with a spatula and add a few teaspoons of butter to the pan. Flip panini (untoasted side down) into the buttered skillet. Place foil and cast iron skillet back on top of the panini and toast for another few minutes until the underside is golden.